U.S. Secretary of Education to Speak at Commencements
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will deliver the keynote addresses at June commencement ceremonies for both colleges in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District. Duncan will make his remarks at Foothill's 50th annual ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday, June 25 in the Library Quad, and at De Anza's 43rd annual ceremony at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 26 in Outdoor Events Arena. Admission to both events is free.
"We are thrilled and honored to have Secretary Duncan speak to our students and celebrate this important milestone in their lives,'' said Linda M. Thor, chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District. "We deeply appreciate the work he has done to communicate the critical role of community colleges in increasing educational attainment in our country, and his efforts with the president to ensure that community colleges have adequate resources to do this important work.''
Duncan joined President Barack Obama's administration as secretary of education in January 2009. He served for seven years before that as chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools, where his mandate was to raise educational standards and performance; improve teacher and principal quality; and increase learning options. During his tenure in Chicago, reading and math scores of the district's elementary school students reached record highs and the number of teachers achieving National Board Certification soared.
Martha J. Kanter, chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza district from July 2003 through June 2009, serves under Duncan as U.S. undersecretary of education.
For more information about the commencement programs, contact Kurt Hueg at Foothill College, HuegKurt@foothill.edu or (650) 949-7645, and Marisa Spatafore at De Anza College, SpataforeMarisa@deanza.edu or (408) 864-8672.
The Foothill-De Anza Community College District serves more than 45,000 students a year in California's Silicon Valley. Read more about the colleges at www.foothill.edu and www.deanza.edu.
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Posted April 8, 2010